Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Gbande, has criticised polls around possible successors to President John Dramani Mahama, describing them as disrespectful to the President.

Speaking in an interview with JoyNews on September 23, 2026, Gbande said the NDC is currently not interested in an exercise that projects individuals within the government as potential presidential candidates.

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He said those whose names are being projected should distance themselves from the exercise, particularly after the party's Council of Elders had expressed concerns about it.

“It is not an exercise we are interested in now. I wish that after the Council of Elders have spoken, persons and individuals whose names are being projected in this force will officially associate themselves from it,” he said.

Gbande further noted that the practice was inappropriate because President Mahama had appointed the individuals involved to serve in his government.

“This is a disrespect to the President, of course. That president has appointed people to work, and within two years, they are being projected as president,” he said.

He also dismissed the exercise as unfounded and argued that it could undermine the goodwill surrounding the government.

“It is not just pretty much. It is unfounded. It is destroying the same goodwill that my brother is talking about. This polling is a cause of the dwindling of goodwill,” he said.

According to Gbande, the issue of who succeeds President Mahama should not be taking precedence over the work of the government.

“This same exercise, there is nothing affecting this government than this exercise,” he said.

He further urged those behind or benefiting from the exercise to reconsider their involvement.

“Whoever is behind it internationally, whoever is behind it locally, and whoever is a beneficiary are the ones who should rethink that there is participation in this,” he said.

Gbande acknowledged that the person conducting the exercise is an independent professional who has the right to carry out his work.

“Most of them are quite independent person. He will always do his work. He is a scientist. We agree with him,” he said.

However, he maintained that the exercise does not reflect the immediate priorities of the NDC.

“But I'm saying that for the NDC, this exercise is not our priority. It doesn't come anywhere close to the things we want to hear,” he added.

JKB/BAI

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